Three-and-out: Seahawks try to climb into NFC playoff race

The last time these clubs met in the Pacific Northwest, last year's regular-season finale, they engaged in a winner-take-all contest for the NFC West and the conference's final playoff berth, which went to the Seahawks. Fast forward 11 months, and the 'Hawks are again clinging to the periphery of the conference playoff picture; the Rams can start thinking about 2012. However St. Louis QB Sam Bradford is expected to play tonight despite an aggravated high ankle sprain.

Both teams have endured injury-marred seasons with their offensive lines particularly depleted. Both teams have lost 60% of their starters to IR, and neither will have its opening day tackles the rest of the way. Seahawks RB Marshawn Lynch has seemingly adapted, scoring in his last eight games while rushing for 591 yards since November. Conversely, Rams RB Steven Jackson has been slowed, running for 125 yards total in his last three outings; he hasn't scored since Oct. 30.

Matchup to watch -- Rams LDE Chris Long vs. Seahawks RT Breno Giacomini: Giacomini replaced injured first-rounder James Carpenter in November and must contend with Long, whose career-best 12 sacks rank sixth in the league heading into tonight's game. Though he'll be coming from Seattle QB Tarvaris Jackson's front side, Long is a player who may need to make a game-changing play to give St. Louis and its league-worst scoring offense a chance.

To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.

USA TODAY is now using Facebook Comments on our stories and blog posts to provide an enhanced user experience. To post a comment, log into Facebook and then "Add" your comment. To report spam or abuse, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box. To find out more, read the FAQ and Conversation Guidelines.

About Nate Davis

Nate Davis is a reporter, blogger and editor who's been at USA TODAY since 2000. He has covered the NFL since 2005. No, he did not play quarterback for Ball State. Davis' succession of our esteemed colleague Sean Leahy at The Huddle is considered a Brady-for-Bledsoe swap by most "insiders."More about Nate